Where are the negative reviews?

OK, I hate to sound like the guy who brings a party to a screaming halt but I came here to get an unbiased opinion of the products offered by Everlast. What I find rather unusual are the lack of negative posts. Now I could be wrong but I would think that someone out there has had a bad experience with one of these units. It is typically those that have bad experiences that tend to post. In this forum the opposite seems to occur. I have spoken to many guys who curse the Miller name brand and they vocalize their opinion loudly with facts to back it up. Now if a mainstream, high quality company like Miller can piss off welding professionals then where are the dissenters on this forum. I hope the moderators are not selectively purging threads. Don't mean to offend anyone. Just trying to do my homework before I drop my hard-earned money on that green beast.

Its funny you should say something about this as I was in the same boat you were about 6 months ago. Now don't get me wrong if you look hard enough you will find negative comments but it seems very apparent to me that almost ALL of those types of posts, not necessarily on this site, have disappeared since Everlast came out with their new line back around early 09. The other thing you have to remember is that there are still people out there who believe that the only good welders are made in the USA, when infact most of those mainstream companies don't even manufacture in the US anymore. Regardless, I diligently followed this and other sites looking for the type of posts you describe thinking that they could be deleted and what I found was that the posts remained for no other reason than to find the root of the problem the customer had and resolve it.

Best of luck to you, I know I'm still happy with my purchase, although I've only had my PM256 about a month.

Z

I suppose it may depend on what you mean by Negative , If you look through posts on various topics you can find problems being posted by Owners and you can also see what steps have been taken to satisfy the Customer . As for Negative posts on the Company and the performance of the units overall i would hesitate to say you can find any recent posts about this. I do know from the past that there where issues with the previous supplier ( this was before my time ) Although i do know the Supplier involved in this and i know his sense of Integrity or lack of it .
In some ways this was actually a good thing for Everlast as it drove home the point that to be a successs you need to put the Customer first and foremost.
Jean and myself here in Canada have always had this philosophy and we pride ourselves on the fact that here locally if there is a question on one of our products on local Forums there are many Members who willingly reinforce this philosohpy of ours.
Before getting involved with Everlast we did our homework and we spent many hours with Alex discussing where we wanted to see Everlast Welders grow and how we needed to be serving our Customers so as to achieve this goal. Alex was thinking along the same lines and my thoughts are that he recognised in Jean and myself the same commitment to Quality and service
Fortunately we have some good quality support in Mike and Mark who have a wealth of knowledge and are certainly readily available to answer questions.
From a small Company point of View we actually offer a lot more than the average.
Mark has a very good sense of just what makes a good functional Welding Unit and just what functions are needed to get the best performance possible for each unit.
Mike has Solid electrical engineering background ( Way over my head ) and has a very insightfull understanding of Inverter Technology and in fact welding in all it's forms
We have the Welders being developed here ( USA )in the Design phase ( this is why you see some other importers slowly trying to catch up to us as they copy not design welding functions) and we have a program for Quality Control in house at the Factory. In addition to this i visit our Suppliers on a regular basis to ensure we are on top of things and make sure everything is up to par.
As for organising and taking care of Accesories etc Jean plays a large role in doing the day to day stuff with this in fact she does the secondary testing on consumables ( or at least overseas it)
It is equally important to also understand the mindset of our Suppliers in order to get the best out of them as is possible. But that is a whole other Story . But needless to say i feel with our interaction with Suppliers and our Customer Philosophy in addition to our QC program we have in place that we can only achieve better things in the Future.

And yes we still have problems and these can be seen by looking through the various posts but we constantly work on them to improve.
As far as just exactly what do we do to bring the best product we can to you is not really discussed very often. I doubt many people on here realise how in-depth we work towards this goal and perhaps this is something we need to bring forward more often to let our Customers and users know more about Everlast Welders

It is really very simple when it is all said and done. Anyone can say how great they are . The bottom line is do you back up what you say.
And in this case i for one say yes 100%
Cheers
Duncan

Generatorlabs,

The tone of your posts does indeed seem adversarial, and not seeking unbiased report. If there are good things to say, people post, if there are bad things to complain about, people post. This is in large part, a techinical forum and place to share experiences with Everlast Product. Its a feedback forum as well about our product so we can see the problems and discuss them fairly openly (even to the point our competitor companies benefit) unless there is something sensitive internally, the posts go unmolested by and large.

We seldom edit or erase any posts. I myself have only edited or erased a handful of posts, mostly in conjunction with off topic, spam, and misplaced posts. The only control we have is on this board. We have no editing control on other boards, which should be a confirmation of the accuracy our customer's postings here.

There are complaints from time to time, and we try to handle them. We are still improving and working on that daily. No company is perfect, but I can tell you that from my own personal experience, the major companies have their problems in this regard as well.

IF you are looking for negativity, I am sure you can find it...We even have the competition doing a good job creating it for us. Most anything negative is older. The new "power" line of products has taken our company a positive direction. The IGBT technology is solid and even our existing mosfet product is much improved and very stable. We do have failures from time to time and we do have an issue crop up now and then, but you can see the nature of them from this forum itself, and other places where our customers post.

If you look for something long enough you will find it. I am a professional welder/fitter with 15 years experience fitting and welding.I have extensive production welding experience and I specialized in asbuilds and prototype one offs. I am now a welding supervisor at a shop that builds their own line and everything is built from scratch. I have worked with Millers, Esabs, Lincolns, and even a cranky old Canox dual spool wire feeder system. They all have their ups and downs, but like I told my gas rep at work when he priced out several new and used machines for me, why would I, Knowing that all these machines are for the most part built from the same parts from the same manufacturers, buy the one with the brand name that everyone knows, pay three times what I would pay for the Everlast machine, and then fork out another $2500. for the plasma cutting machine that isnt included with the recognized name brand. I was born during the day but it wasnt yesterday. Yes there are pros and cons to the Everlast machines but they do what the reps and support system say they do, the warranty is above average(miller is improving theirs but that will take time)and they are inexpensive and extremely versatile compared to the big name brands. I mentioned before in my initial review a couple of minor problems with the SU205 layout fittings air lines etc., and i am not sure yet if I like the new stick stinger but I have worked with WAY worse(early esab for example) These machines are a good hobby machine with enough beef to take on the job site. Period

Well I have to disagree with me being adversarial but I will give you an example of why I must take this approach. I like to fly high-end model helicopters. The "Made in US" brand heli's have a number of Chinese knockoffs that perform well BUT there are some consistent quality issues. To make matters worse the vendors who sell this stuff put up web based store-fronts that have US based addresses however all of it is a facade. The tech support via e-mail is always answered at very late hours proving they are operating out of China. The e-mails are answered in a sort of broken English. The phone support is almost non existent. To get simple parts sometimes takes weeks. When asked how they operate they avoid answering. I have absolutely nothing against the Chinese. I think they have a beautiful and advanced society but I don't like being deceived. I even did some research and found the same owners had many, many websites selling the same products with different corporate identities. It makes me wonder if Lotos, blah blah, etc are all the same company.

The thread responses from Evergreen reps listed here are very articulate however when reading their website you get broken and incorrect English which leaves me like......huh???? Where are you guys really operating out of and who is really working the strings on that web presence. And I quote from the Everlast website News/FAQ


"What welding helmet used for?"

"June 23rd, 2010

Welding helmet is very important and necessary while welding metals. You should weld the metals without a helmet. 50 % of workers are injured for not wearing welding helmet. The helmets are worn because while weld a spark and other lights are thrown out. The role of this helmet is to protect your face and of course eyes. It is important to protect your eyes because once your retina is damaged you can become blind.

Have your helmet and other gears in an approachable distance. These helmets are vulnerable which protects from rays and doesn’t cause any damages on it. The welding helmet consists of lens shade which protects the eyes. The lens is made out of electronic shutter which adjust automatically while welding. They are generally used while working with all the arc metal welding equipment. When you buy the helmet make sure they are light weighted helmet. Heavy helmet can be tiring to wear and these can strains your neck. There are many kinds of helmet but buy a quality helmet which last for longer period."

I have to work hard for the money I am dropping on your multi-process product. I have seen pictures of the insides of these units. They are pretty intense and stuffed with electronics. Sure you may have a 3 year warranty but what if all these new units begin to fail at year 2. Do you think Everlast will be able to withstand the Toyota effect? I can almost see it now. You close shop and open up under a different name and color scheme while I am holding the green machine that no longer has support. What happens after year 3? Will I have service documentation or schematics to attempt repairs on my own? Besides the switching IGTB's are the semi-conductors used in this device mainstream devices or are they esoteric or obscure devices? Will I be able to order a HF board or an LVPS at a reasonable cost? That would make me feel real comfortable. I am sorry I am not the optimist. I want to believe I am doing the right thing here. I am sitting on the fence with money in hand. I just need the assurance that I am doing a wise thing. So lets be clear here: I am not bashing Everlast and I am not trying to stir up a controversy. I am just the one who decided to seek out the answers to the question that many out there are asking but are too shy or busy to ask.

You aren't the first one to ask these questions. I get emails, phone calls and posts all the time. After you have sold as many units as we have, you tend to get several veins of typical customer comments and questions.

You bring up a valid point about the website:
The "broken English" is actually subbed out work from another company that upkeeps certain things on our site which is subcontracted to India. This mainly involves "wordpress" blogs much like a blog for other web bots to read that help improve our SEO. Our new and updated site has been up and running less than 6 months and it is quite large and we are going back and are still adding features and functions. Until we can get through the entire site, there are a couple of "broken" phrases still hanging around. The site took about a year to develop and will take equally long to work out all the kinks.

We are not the same as LOTOS/Chiry or any other company, our product is much higher quality and the features are distinct and they are not made in the same factory and are quite different and not cloned copies of other brands. Our technology holds its own and much of it holds patents. Our factory makes its own boards, and if you'll read Duncan's reply, he has been to most of the major Chinese factories ( not all though since there are probably about 200 smaller welder factories in China).

All of Everlast is based in the US or Canada. You'll find people with accents in our company just like any other,but not Chinese. British, Southern, Californian, Russian, we are all here. The US division is based in California, San Fran to be exact.

We have been around 5 years, and the US division offers a 5 year warranty as well. We have survived the Toyota "effect" already with the previously mentioned issues, and still have the same name.
We do not provide proprietary schematics so other companies can copy. If you need help with easy customer able repairs we do have customer support to help you. Our warranty is a replacement warranty so there is no need for repairs in general unless it is something that an average customer can do.

You will find however, that our parts are common off the shelf parts and make practical use of technology. We have become a magnet for EE's and other Electronic savvy customers purchasing our products...for some reason...So, we get plenty of unsolicited advice (which we do appreciate btw). But overall, most come away impressed with the construction the use of the components and the overall design and operation of the machine. Also from what they report to me, that they feel like they can fix about anything on our machines and the parts are common everyday parts.

I can't promise you anything, no one can, not even at Miller or Lincoln. Miller almost disappeared a few years ago before ITW bought them. HObart was absorbed my ITW and was for a long time a cheaper copy of a Miller. Lincoln outsources much of its product line to Mexico, Italy, and China. L-tech became ESAB. Thermal ARC is a distributing company and sells product from Austria, China, and who knows where else. Forney is a shell of a company with a few chinese units and mostly consumables now. Century was bought by Lincoln as well as Marquette. Miller has had huge recent layoffs and so has Lincoln. If you want stability, you'll find that in this industry just as in the tractor industry, there is a lot of "flux" pardon the pun. You'll have to look at our past 5 years and look how we have grown. Do you want a company that has never encountered a problem of any kind? If so, then if there ever is a problem how do you know they will handle it? We have grown tremendously, thanks to forward thinking people, willing to "invest" in us through their purchases. We appreciate that and do our best to honor their faith in us.

The best thing I can offer to sum up a response is to say this:

You have the ability to find all the negative and positive things about us just like any one else.
We are still here, after braving a period of time of issues(which several other companies faced and did not survive).
We offer our warranty and our satisfaction policy which is available for you to read on our website.
5 years is not a long time in the grand scheme of things, but it is not a 6 month old company either.
If you are not an optimist, then there is nothing we can say, do or post to make you so. But maybe you understand our company a little better.

I'm on to buying my 4th machine, first was a powerplasma 50 then an Imig 205, and a power arc 200 ( my baby) and now a powerplasma 80 ordered from Duncan in Canada to hook up to my CNC plasma table. Cannot complain about anything, had great service at the right price. If I bought red or blue I would still be saving up to make the first purchase. Shipping damage and minor problems are what most of the guys on the site have. If you are skeptical then buy the Power arc 200 to start with and it will make a believer out of you for not many bucks or checkout welding tips and tricks on the web to see a great tig machine being demo'd. I'm not a tig guy but I'm leaning that way and the 250EX is way less dollars than anything in it's class.

At my age I'm not shy about being critical about a product, but I have nothing to complain about.

Generatorlabs
I have the PM256 now the PP256, Sure I had the UPS Dropkick and the unit was trashed but Everlast took care of the exchange super fast and every time there was a shipping problem they didn't stand on the side lines they reacted with newer shipping containment. Now you rarely hear about the shipping destruction.
This PM256 is wonderful, very happy with it and everyone that stops by tries it and can't believe the ease of use and quality of the unit. I have another friend that is buying one, he's heavy equipment mechanic and says that this will free up a lot of space on the service truck and give more of abroad band of different weld choices and the plasma cutter instead of ac/dc stick.
I have several plasma cutters Miller, Hobart an the Everlast guess what gets used almost always, Yes the Everlast.
The foot pedal is a trouble spot but with the thread I read , people are showing their mods and the problem has disappeared.
If you buy a multi purpose machine you'll be happy as H_ll, I am Just can't say anything bad.
Alex, Mark and Mike and the rest of the staff want you to be pleased and want their product to maintain being the best. Word of mouth sells faster than any ad's placed.
Just my thought, if you search my name it may help you decide (only a member for 8 months and learned a lot).
dwdw

Well I thought I’d weigh in here, I’ve been selling Everlast products for about 6 months here in Alaska, like Duncan I did some research prior to investing my retirement into my company. I was also a bit apprehensive before buying by first Imig200 back in 09, but was impressed with both the machinery and the company, I think we all share the same values and understand what good customer service is, from being on “the other side” of the issues. I have sold a few units (less than 100) and have had a few issues (very few) but am proud to say have maintained 100% customer satisfaction. There are guys that will not even consider an “Off Brand” unit and will not even bother to look, if it ain’t blue. However I have put several units in shops right next to the blue and red ones and so far have received nothing but praise, seriously.
Most issues I’ve encountered have been, I think, related to being hand assembled rather than using robotics, US made stuff used to be a lot like that back a few years, it took a bit to “work out the bugs” in almost anything you bought for shop (or farm) use. At least that’s the way I remember it. So far things like hose clamps, loose screws, stuff like that.
I also have given quite a few suggestions to Mark and Mike (most good I hope) and they are reactive and I have seen improvements put in place a lot faster than any other company I’ve dealt with in the past.
Yea, I know it seems to good to be true, but so far so good for us.
And the web site stuff, I have been trying to put together a web site, strongly considered out sourcing it, but opted to do it in house for several reasons, it takes a lot to keep up on it and keep it polished looking, I hope to get there soon.
My advise, buy with confidence, the problems are few and are usually resolved quickly and result in satisfied customers anyway.

Ray
Everlast Alaska Co.
www.everlastalaska.com

OK I have read your comments. Considering that I have a 100% satisfaction guarantee I took the chance and ordered a Pro 205. For the skeptics who thought I was just trying to stir up controversy....surprise!

I already know myself well enough to know that I am very critical of performance, fit and finish. So if your device is as good as you claim then we will have a harmonious relationship. However if this thing starts giving me headaches or making me feel as though I own an inferior product then you will be getting the green machine back with the quickness.

I will patiently be waiting for it to get here within the time frame proposed.

Oh and as a side point: I still think it would be a very, very responsible thing for Everlast to provide service documentation and schematics for their products. As far as anyone stealing or copying you technology; a competent engineer can easily reverse engineer that machine by simply opening the covers. So unless you plan to start potting the entire machine in black epoxy I think your secret is already out. As for me I am inclined to feel better about a company that supports its customers in every degree. Sony delivers new products to the market all the time and the technical drawings are always available. I work with laser gimbals that cost in excess of $10,000 and I get drawings for their proprietary circuitry. I don't expect the manufacturer to provide the software code or algorithms they developed but it sure is nice to have drawings when troubleshooting a complicated device. Please consider that for the future and longevity of your products past the 5 year mark. Sign me up for drawings the day your fears come to pass.

I think that your perception of what really occurs in technological copying is very diluted. Sure it would not take much for an EE to come in and reverse engineer this welder. However you are talking about companies who may not necessarily have an EE on staff or be willing to hire an EE to do so and then have to keep them on staff to ensure that it is built correctly and functions as it should. Not to mention all the troubleshooting that is required once distributed. All this reverse engineering can go into a universal case and have generic knobs and look attractive to buyers as it is just a welder. The same cannot be said of electronics made by Sony/Pioneer/Samsung etc as the user interface and functionality is what normally sells consumer electronics.

Also, to be perfectly honest, your attitude absolutely sucks. As a business owner if you were to come to me with this "if anything goes wrong" attitude then I would tell you to take your money elsewhere. People with your requirement of perfection have NO business in business. Perfection is unattainable and an illusion, thus the reason that EVERY major company has a tech dept., warranty, and the ability to fix problems once they arise.

But hey, what do I know? For all I know "Generator Labs" has never had any problems with anything they have ever done, if that is the company you own/work for.

Zman,
Your statement about copying is exactly right. The point is we are not going to give our competition a blueprint to build these welders in other factories in China, which I can promise you has already been attempted, without much success thankfully because of the issues you just cited.

Don't be too hard on our latest customer, seriously. I have, and others in the company face this daily. I did have issues with one guy who told me he was lawyer and if we had any problems we'd hear from him about it, all in the same breath...That kind of statement makes one suspicious.

Zeroman: I believe you are reading a little too hard and I think you need to hold your mouth right. I never said I expected or demanded perfection. What I did say is I expect for Everlast to deliver what it claims. If Everlast fulfills its claims to offer the best value, performance fit & finish for the price then we will all live in harmony, if not then there will not be harmony. Hell, you never know, I might apply to be the next Everlast dealer for the East coast. Furthermore you seem to be adding attitude to my statements and writings. Sit back and read my postings again but this time read them calmly. You seem to be getting defensive for no reason at all. My attitude sucks? Dude I just dropped some serious money on a machine I cannot see, touch or smell so don't try to put that guilt trip on me. I am the customer now and I will be the customer 5 years from now (and maybe longer if it all works out). Lets not lose perspective.

As far as the schematics; It was a suggestion not a demand. There you go again adding attitude to my post. Have a beer and go do some welding. In fact why don't you tig all those empty beer cans sitting in your pickup truck into the shape of a big fluffy bunny rabbit. (OK so that last part may have had a little attitude this time). Hopefully I may never need the schematics. I hope I never do. But let me tell you the type of man I am. When I get something new (car; electronics or whatever) the first thing I try to do is examine the inner workings of it thoroughly. I don't do this to expose secrets; I do this to fully understand how things work. I have a basic understanding of electronics and I enjoy messing with electronics for my own enlightenment. I don't like relying on anybody to keep my stuff operational. For every car I own I have the proprietary software to interface, diagnose and repair that car. If the car has a warranty failure I don't worry about it. But what will happen when that car is out of warranty? I don't want to rely on a dealership to make things right when I am quite capable of doing it myself. Most guys who are into welding are usually self sufficient mechanically. So why is it so alarming to want to be just as sufficient with the tools that you use. Like I said before the schematics will not give a competitor the ability to magically clone these machines. A lot of time and money is needed to do that. If someone has those resources the lack of schematics will not stop them. Lets face it, Everlast will produce more advanced machines in the future with even better technology. Is it so insane to release the drawings once the current technology is a little dated. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but hey it would be nice if I could have them before my warranty period is over ( this is why I stated earlier "once your fears come to pass" ) I worked as an engineer for Xerox Corp. for 12 years. Xerox had some really cutting edge technology at the time. I mean some serious stuff. And you know what? Anyone looking to buy the technical documents could. Did Xerox provide the value and location of every component inside some of those massive machines? No but they did provide concise block schematics that helped anyone capable repair the machine on their own. Were the documents meant for the general public? No way..too technical but nevertheless they were still available.

Dude I am never going to apologize or concede for my stance. This is an open forum. I asked questions and made comments. Nothing was meant to be disparaging towards Everlast. Everything I said was there with a purpose and that purpose was to protect MY investment in this product. You should really look at this another way. What is a new prospective customer going to think about these posts? Do you think your aggression is going to win over a new customer when I am making simple and innocent requests? Come on man!!

Now you can either welcome me into this forum with open arms and an open mind or just say nothing at all. That may be the best way to salvage what civility is left in this thread. I was really excited when I ordered that new gear but you guys are killing my high.

You're absolutely right you're not negative, which is why I was the only person to notice your negativity, oh wait, never mind.

I also didn't realize I was throwing a guilt trip out to anyone. Guilt is a voluntary emotion that is felt when YOU realize something. Someone cannot force you to feel guilt.

It's ok to admit you had a pessimistic attitude in your apprehension because the two almost go hand in hand.

Now its one thing to be skeptical, its another all together to state that Everlast will hear from you if you're not satisfied and you won't have a good relationship with them. I mean, is that really necessary? Throwing out ultimatums will normally get you nowhere. You might want to try a little self reflection. A confident consumer would purchase an item and not need to tear anything apart until it was broken. He may take a look out of curiosity but should have the confidence to repair it if he tore it open when broken. A skeptic would tear it open and take a negative attitude towards what might break and look at the worst part of construction/componentry. Open your eyes, the world is a beautiful place. Most companies aren't out to get you and maliciously cause you grief.

BTW, way to keep it civil with the feeble attempt at name mockery. I hope you have a better attitude the next time you post needing help from the people who visit these forums. If anything this thread will easily let future customers see a slew of testimonials in one thread and show that even people with skepticism and initial negative attitudes come around to see what great machines Everlast actually sells. You got the answers you were looking for this time but I assure you there is a bad taste in the mouth of most people who have read your comments whether you realize it or not. Lastly, welcome to the forum fellow welder. (Arms wide open)

Comence with the civility, nothing to see here.

One thing that will warm up the editing eraser is disrespect here. There is plenty of room for disagreement without hostility and disrespect among board members.

This country was founded by people who disagreed but maintained mutual respect for each other. It is now being torn apart by people whose parents forgot to teach them about respect for others and only caring about themselves and their egos. We won't let this forum be a point of derision, hate, disrespect, or name calling to others.

I believe that apologies are warranted, whether or not they are issued I will let the participating members decide for now. But I am strongly suggesting it. Everyone has to play nice in our sand box, for all concerned. Apology is a art form. Apology does not require a retraction of beliefs, only of rash or insensitive statements. Don't get me wrong, mercurial personalities are welcome, but we have children and a whole host of others from different countries and backgrounds on this board and that should always be kept in mind. This board is for helping others, chatting with others, and working through questions and issues, with welders from Everlast and other brands, and even sharing opinions, personal activities of leisure and lifestyle. If it gets derailed from those central themes, then it will collapse and lose the purpose for why it exists. Even Mike and I don't always agree on everything, but we keep it respectful and friendly, even if there is a bit of good natured ribbing between us. All members of the Everlast family, employees and customers should be able to find a common green thread around which they can harmonize their opinions, and that is the purpose here.

With regard to my purchase and use of an Everlast multi-function PU 205 I just can't come up with any negatives to satisfy the title question, "Where are all the negatives".
I could mention the small problem I had with a too short spring in the original gas solenoid, but that comes out as a positive for the company.
Alex told me how to fix it (took about 15 minutes to fix) and then sent me a new gas valve with correct spring just to be sure the problem was dealt with.

For the money the machine is downright amazing. The ability to start and maintain an arc at low amps is something I do not have with my trusty Miller and P+H machines, good old rigs that they are. This Everlast will weld circles around them when doing that type of welding, which I seem to encounter quite often now. I noticed Jody Collier said the same thing about his 250Ex and he is someone who was a staunch Miller man until recently.

The tig is great, especially now that I have fitted a small WP9 torch to the unit. It is as easy to make a nice tig weld with as the Lincoln 185 I have been using. I can't really say one machine is better than the other in tig function. I can tell you that my experience with Everlast sales department is 100 times better than dealing with the local Lincoln dealer (Linde) Last time I went there the counter sales person was so rude that someone should have filmed the ordeal as a sales training video, like the "how not to" ones that John Cleese made way back when.

I put up photos of plasma cuts I've made with the machine using a few different methods. You can see the latest result in the thread "smooth Plasma cuts" in the Multi-function section.
My friend Murray with the Hypertherm 30 is a bit gobstruck by an $800 tig/ stick welder that can switched over to Plasma and make cuts that are smoother than any he has made yet, plus cut through 3/4" where he is all done at 3/8".

Now it just needs to last, but at least it has a long guarantee and a company behind the guarantee that understands how important it is to fix any problems that arise.
I really haven't encountered this kind of philosphy for some time now. Often times the attitude is "if a machine we sold is not working it must be your fault, period"

Worn,

I believe Jody is still a staunch Miller man, but he has room in his heart for others as well.

"Thank You" to the folks who took the time to post useful input. Like I said earlier I was just sitting on the fence and I needed some coaxing to make the purchase. Without the feedback I would still be sitting on that fence. I look forward to actually working with the equipment. I will post my findings once the unit is here.

In the meantime I will probably fabricate a jig for my CNC machine. It would be nice if I had some dimensional drawings for the torch. Has anyone done any precision measurements of the torch?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by generatorlabs

"Thank You" to the folks who took the time out for their useful input. Like I said earlier I was just sitting on the fence and I needed some coaxing to make the purchase. Without the feedback I would still be sitting on that fence. I look forward to actually working with the equipment. I will post my findings once the unit is here.

In the meantime I will probably fabricate a jig for my CNC machine. It would be nice if I had some dimensional drawings for the torch. Has anyone done any precision measurements of the torch?

---

I made my own holder for the S45 the hole is slightly less tha 1 inch, don't drill a 1 inch hole as it will be too sloppy for a snug fit , I don't have the dimensions as I'm away from home. What CNC machine are you fitting yours to, mine is the torchmate 2 X 2

Well my CNC is a 3 x 3 built from scratch. I bought some plans from PDJ and used those to gather ideas. Between the plans from PDJ and the various threads floating around the internet I was able to weld together a beautiful machine. I built it with some really nice balls screws that I also ordered from PDJ. Coincidentally (yes a total coincidence, as I had my machine over a year before I heard about Everlast) I painted it the same color as the Everlast cabinet so they will look nice together. Right now it has a custom holder for my Porter Cable router but I was thinking to design a circular plate that I could fit in the place of the router to hold the torch on the Z axis.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by generatorlabs

"Thank You" to the folks who took the time to post useful input. Like I said earlier I was just sitting on the fence and I needed some coaxing to make the purchase. Without the feedback I would still be sitting on that fence. I look forward to actually working with the equipment. I will post my findings once the unit is here.

In the meantime I will probably fabricate a jig for my CNC machine. It would be nice if I had some dimensional drawings for the torch. Has anyone done any precision measurements of the torch?

---

Generator,
I received my PP256 June 3rd and am very impressed with the quality and functioning of this machine, but more on that later.
These are measurements of the WSD-60P plasma torch that came with it.
The diameter of the plastic torch head just above the ceramic cone is around 1.22"(nominal 31.0 mm) with a good 1/2" of straight cylindrical length.
Below that, the total length of the ceramic cone and metal tip (including small stand-off distance) is around1.16" or 29.5mm. The cylindrical portion of the ceramic cone diameter is 1.02" or 26.0mm.
As to any negatives, I did have to remove the cover to tighten the HF pilot terminal on the front panel. But my biggest gripe is that I had to wait three weeks for shipment, having placed my order May 3rd and informed at that time, they were out of stock but "on the way". It seemed like a long 3 weeks (4 weeks including UPS time).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dirtyfarmer

My biggest gripe is that I had to wait three weeks for shipment, having placed my order May 3rd and informed at that time, they were out of stock but "on the way". It seemed like a long 3 weeks (4 weeks including UPS time).

---

Yeah I found the lead time unusually long too. However they told me up front it would take two weeks so I agreed to it. I think that is funny because they have ebay auctions that show more than 10 available for sale. A few days ago a rep from Everlast told me they had to update their auctions however even as I type this there is another up there that says 10 available. Hmmm??


I hope they can deliver in the time frame proposed.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by generatorlabs

Yeah I found the lead time unusually long too. However they told me up front it would take two weeks so I agreed to it. I think that is funny because they have ebay auctions that show more than 10 available for sale. A few days ago a rep from Everlast told me they had to update their auctions however even as I type this there is another up there that says 10 available. Hmmm??


I hope they can deliver in the time frame proposed.

---

Yes, I agree, this type of conflicting communication does not help ease the customers peace of mind.
BTW, if you would like to see an image of the plasma torch that came with my PP256, look at the one pictured for the "Power Plasma 60"(on the Everlast website), as the one shown currently for the PP256, is not the style of the one I have and gave you dimensions for. Maybe you should wait for your package to arrive to be sure of the style of torch.
Also, I'm waiting for some plasma consumables that were part of the original order price/package agreement by Alex. I'm told they're out of stock, but should arrive July 8th. I'm hoping that they match my plasma torch style.

The torches in the PP60 and PowerPro 256 are of the same torch....One is a artist drawing, nothing more.

However, the torch on the PowerPro 205 in question is a S-45 model and it is completely different

The delivery times are always approximate...Many things can change within the time period, because of shipping delays, customs delays, loading/unloading delays etc.


The ebay auctions are put up with an "estimated" number of units...They usually run their course with the same information when started,and the same standard information is always given to simplify the auction...When it says 10, it may be more or less...because that may be only 1 days worth of stock on that item. If the item sells out before the auction has ended, the customer is informed, and then it is shipped as soon as it is received.

I realize that the S-45 torch is differant and was surprised when that info was posted. Regarding the eBay listings, I watched them along with various forums for at least 6 months before I made my decision to purchase a PP256 and was also surprised to learn that they were out of stock, due to the ongoing eBay auction listings that seemed to indicate otherwise. Still, the bottom line is that I'm very impressed with the Quality and functionality of your PP256, and make every effort to show it off to my friends.

Also, I'm waiting for some plasma consumables that were part of the original order price/package agreement by Alex. I'm told they're out of stock, but should arrive July 8th. I'm hoping that they match my plasma torch style.[/QUOTE]

Now, all is right in my world! The promised package of plasma consumables just arrived via "the brown truck". They are the correct style for my plasma torch. Thank you Alex for what I consider a great deal on a great machine.
----Dirty Farmer

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by generatorlabs

Well my CNC is a 3 x 3 built from scratch. I bought some plans from PDJ and used those to gather ideas. Between the plans from PDJ and the various threads floating around the internet I was able to weld together a beautiful machine. I built it with some really nice balls screws that I also ordered from PDJ. Coincidentally (yes a total coincidence, as I had my machine over a year before I heard about Everlast) I painted it the same color as the Everlast cabinet so they will look nice together. Right now it has a custom holder for my Porter Cable router but I was thinking to design a circular plate that I could fit in the place of the router to hold the torch on the Z axis.

---

3 x 3 soumds like a great size, 9 sq. feet is 2 & 1/4 times my 2 x 2 and the 3 foot length is right near the upper limit for a ball screw length but certainly do-able. I got mine for a learning experience and making a few parts for Bobcat attachments that kinda thing. A circular plate should be okay as long as you remember to keep the hole snug, the first one(holder) I built was drilled to 1 inch and that is too sloppy, if my memory is correct then I believe I drilled 7/8 and bored to about 24.5 mm,or something like that and eyeballed the angle for the chamfer for a nice snug fit on the nozzle. there is a quick way to make a holder, if you don't have a lathe, get an extra cone end and JB weld it into a one inch hole.

Is someone selectively hiding my posts on this thread? Hmm very interesting... I thought this was an open forum?

Generator,
If you haven't been keeping up, we have been giving updates on this forum! ALL ordered units have been shipped! They were shipped between Friday and Monday. Two weeks went barely longer than what was promised to you.


Sir,

When I refer to keeping your waiting customers informed I refer to the use of more accepted means of communications like e-mail. I should not have to scour through a forum to find out if a shipment is in.

Furthermore I ordered on the 28th of June. My unit supposedly shipped on the 19th. It is now the 20th. Thats hardly a little more than two weeks, it is now 3 weeks. Just to be fair you said two weeks; not two and half or three.

Lastly I still have no correct tracking number. I still cannot verify my order is actually en route to me. The number your firm provided was for some other order going to another state.

Will you delete this post too?

im to lazy to read from the 1st post to the last post so lets start with mine :D

ok i purchased a power arc 200 wasn't in stock and sold out- refund or take a power arc 160- i took the in stock 160- ups picked it up the same day - ups is slow as hell. everlast gave me a proper tracking number- worked fine i followed the shipping all the way to the arrival of getting here took about 1wk. i doubt they woudl give you a bogus tracking number, recheck it, recheck it again, call ups then report back. complain if the issue is on this side. (dont be a bitch)


these guys here will fix any problem that is their fault and even make the order better than what it was to begin with.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by generatorlabs

Generator,
If you haven't been keeping up, we have been giving updates on this forum! ALL ordered units have been shipped! They were shipped between Friday and Monday. Two weeks went barely longer than what was promised to you.


Sir,

When I refer to keeping your waiting customers informed I refer to the use of more accepted means of communications like e-mail. I should not have to scour through a forum to find out if a shipment is in.

Furthermore I ordered on the 28th of June. My unit supposedly shipped on the 19th. It is now the 20th. Thats hardly a little more than two weeks, it is now 3 weeks. Just to be fair you said two weeks; not two and half or three.

Lastly I still have no correct tracking number. I still cannot verify my order is actually en route to me. The number your firm provided was for some other order going to another state.

Will you delete this post too?

---

Generator,
We have no control over release dates from ports. We have said from the start that all things are estimated and not exact. I find it very "interesting" that you are so beligerant towards the company that you have chosen to purchase from, even before you purchased. That doesn't sound right to me...but I am sure I am not the only one. If we made a major goof or stuck you with an orphan product, then I could understand, but you have been accusative and destructive from the start. It almost seems you are looking for a fight? We aren't and have done our best to keep things on an even keel.

I did not delete your post, Mike did. I responded to your post and when I posted it had been edited already so, I immediately backed mine out. Your post was aimed at being disruptive, especially after we have done our best, even working employees overtime to get these units out. We had also already dealt with the issue openly, so your post was probably deemed out of order and untrue. So, I am fairly certain that is the reason. UPS doesn't pick up on Saturday or Sunday so it was delayed three days.

Furthermore, email, phone calls, posting on our support forum are all acceptable forms of communication...Truth be known, phone calls are the best form. You can call anytime to check on your order. You as a customer bear part of the responsibility to inquire if you are not heard from us. You have our email addresses, and you have not contacted me or Mike about shipping so we could follow up. We have scores even hundreds of orders that have gone out in two days and each order is handled individually and any tracking is done and entered manually. Orders went out in first to last. If your order had been placed earlier, it would have gone out Friday the 16th. We have kept constant communication going on here on our forum, which is the place all customers have access to, and is available for public viewing by all. We post all updates, service issues etc here as well. You need to use this forum to your advantage. I'd suggestfor any questions or issues you have, start by looking here first. This is the primary purpose of this forum: is to communicate directly from Everlast anything pertinent that generally concerns all customers.

Additionally, the units may sit in SF or the hub for some time before they are shipped out, usually up to 24 hours, depending on many variables.

why is he complaining when all of us have nothing neg to say? seriously man if they gave you the wrong tracking number or what ever post it here and in the forum and let everyone see what it is and if we can't verify it works and the guys from everlast show us the same one they sent you then your just a liar plain and simple trying to get your free welder

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by generatorlabs

Is someone selectively hiding my posts on this thread? Hmm very interesting... I thought this was an open forum?

---

This is an open "tech" support forum for our welders. Not a complaint forum for someone waiting on a product.

If you have a sales complaint, call sales and complain or get your money back.

If someone has a serious tech problem, they should always call tech support directly rather post here and wait for an answer as well. But that is their call. And we leave those post as it might help others and save us a phone call. We work very hard to keep our prices low.

Let's keep it positive here.

Still looks like this guy is a "costomer" to me. See previous post if you don't know what this is about.

ok he's a customer im a customer and im use to high end industrial linc mig.tig.stick machines and high end OA torches and hyper therm plasma cutters and a huge ### air compressor to supply enough air for cutting for a decently long period of time. and supplying air for over 30 welding stations. i ordered my power arc 160 and im completely satisfied. yep the warranty runs out in 5 years and im sure the guys at everlast will upgrade a loyal customer to a newer model or even send out a reminder that the warranty is running out. no complaints. your so smart why not make your own drawing?

other words make some new post in a diffrent thread show us some projects and welcome to the community :P and share some knowledge for those of us wanting to learn more

OK here is the tracking number. If you investigate it yourself you will see that its final destination is headed to some other part of the country. Mind you I live in South Carolina.

Hello,

Your UPS tracking number is: 1ZW636030343151274.

Thank you,

~Katya


Now Katya wants me to provide an invoice number. Well your autoresponder does not provide an additional invoice number. It merely says that you have tendered payment. My invoice number is the same number I have sent to you guys at least two times. It is the Ebay auction number. Look at your e-mail history.

As for the other comments:
1. This thread was placed in a customer testimonial section, not in the Tech Support area. I am a customer and I am merely giving my testimony to my experience thus far. When I have tech support concerns I will post in the appropriate section.
2. Nothing I have posted, including the post that was deleted was untrue in any respect. If you can point out one thing in that deleted post that was untrue then I will retract my statement publicly and apologize. Nor was any inappropriate language used requiring the post to be deleted.
3. I am trying to "keep it positive". When I have a positive experience I will post it. Until then I post what I see. I will recognize exemplary service and products when they happen. I don't have a product yet so I reserve my comments on the product until I get it.
4. It is not wrong to complain when you don't get what you expect or paid for. If you pay for five pies you should get five pies. Not approximately five or four. If the description of the item states the size of the pies may vary dramatically and I accept the terms then it is what it is. I accepted it. When I bought my unit on Ebay it went from "10 in stock" to "out of stock" to shipment within two weeks. If it would have said two to three weeks I would have been bound to those terms. However it did not. You keep trying to insinuate that I was aware of all these other shipping problems you have. I only concern myself with the terms presented to me at the time of purchase.
5. Yotarover...your comments are ridiculous. "Trying to get a free welder" and "a liar". Come on man, stop trying to win forum points. I won't indulge your comment further. I know how to use the UPS tracking system and I certainly know how to cut and paste a tracking number. Are you going to insinuate that I made that tracking number up now? Furthermore you ordered a unit that was in stock so your experience is totally different. You chose the easy path and I chose to wait for what I wanted. I ordered my unit on the 28th of last month. From the tone of your post ("all of us have nothing neg to say") you seem to have nominated yourself spokesperson for the entire Everlast realm while I seem to find others like myself who have similar opinions and say so in other threads. I however did not chose to make myself the complaint boss as you already occupy that seat. Also your use of foul language in this forum shows your lack of respect and decorum and I hope a moderator with a sharp eye strikes your nonsensical phrases.
6. If the extra items that were supposed to be shipped with my unit were inadvertently left out (welding helmet) should I not complain about that too? Or should I just shrug and say "its expected because there is a lot of orders being processed". Like I said on an earlier post UPS will automatically send out notifications for you if you choose to use their system. Why not use the tools provided to provide a better customer experience? Why not send out group emails to customers waiting in que to let them know the status on a bi-weekly basis? Do you really believe the following: You as a customer bear part of the responsibility to inquire if you are not heard from us. May I suggest some light reading from Demming on the principles of quality, customer satisfaction and customer retention. In my humble opinion my responsibility ended when I tendered payment. You have to fulfill your part of the contract at this point. Also while I have not emailed you or Mike directly I have an email stretching back a few generations regarding my shipment with someone from your offices. How do you think I got the bad tracking number to begin with?
7. I honestly don't want to be as you say "beligerant". You are right. I did choose to do business with you. I do have faith that you will get the product to me at some point. And I do think the product will perform well. I think its great you have guys working OT to get these items out. That means you are doing well on the orders front. However my customers hold me to the letter of the law when I contract with them. Why should I as a customer not expect or demand the same level of commitment and respect to the contract you engaged with me? How can I say this gently; this is not your first rodeo. You should know the ports/shipping game by now. Don't make claims or contracts you cant deliver on in the time specified. Maybe you should adjust your delivery specs to 3-4 weeks on the next batch.

Now if we could move forward; please contact Katya, review my emails with her and provide me a proper tracking number.

generator,

1) This forum is run by the tech support guys. It is a primary resource for customers wishing to get technical information on their units. Although, any interesting posts and other topical issues are encouraged, but you began your post with a "negative" attack from the beginning BEFORE you were a customer. You have had a negative take on things from the beginning.

2) Yes, you have made several inaccurate statements from the beginning and colored them with careless remarks about the service, even before you became a customer...Including the opening title "Where are the negative reviews?"

3) You have said nothing positive from the beginning, even before you were a customer. I suggest you are looking for bad things to say, and perhaps that is your personality, I don't know, but it is apparent to almost everyone here and they have said so...without prompting from us. Yet, you deny it.

4) You paid for a 1600.00 tig welder and are going to receive it. We never "guarantee" a delivery date. We give our best estimate. You have completely ignored what we have done in keeping everyone here updated on the dates. A few days late, yes, but not majorly. If anyone HAS to have a guaranteed delivery date for any "contract" or project, even Miller or Lincoln will tell you if the product has to be ordered, they cannot guarantee that date. I know, because I own name brand products myself, as well as Everlast.

5) Yotarover is expressing his opinion as well, yet you want it censored? What about your respect of the board moderators? We have done our best to keep things smooth yet you disrespect us, and keep things in turmoil, instead of simply stating you are dissatisfied and giving reasons for doing it. No, I don't use that language, and its right at the border of what I consider acceptable, but not over, since the term has taken on new meaning in recent years, to mean something new. But I find it curious that you have disregarded more friendly attempts from our other customers to render similar comments, that oppose your opinions.

6) People are human and they make mistakes. If your customers hold you to the "letter of the law" then I hope you never make a mistake. If your customers do, then fine, but we do our best as a growing company...Whatever books you read cannot substitute for experience. I have 25 years in dealing with customers and customer service, and Mike has more...Both in successful companies and with good reputation in our former and current positions. We understand customer service. We also know when a customer is going out of his way to trip over a pebble on the highway. But regardless, we try to do our best anyway. It does happen from time to time that the ball is dropped. Customers do come here as a stop gap measure and we rectify the situation when it does. You rarely hear from the satisfied customer unless there is a problem. First you complain here that there are no negative reviews, now you are saying there are plenty of threads with this type tone? You are double speaking...

7) We have always said these times are estimated. If you failed to read that, then that is your fault, not ours. We explained from the outset about it. You chose to ignore it. No one with "experience" in import shipping guarantees a delivery date, particularly one that has not been delivered to us. We never said it would be here in two weeks "guaranteed" either. We have not made any "contract" either, other than a sales contract, and a promise to deliver asap, when the units come in.


While I will follow up, please contact Katya yourself directly at ext 202 after 9:30 pdt. If you do not wish to do so,then you are not following our recommended procedure that I have given you, and that is available to all so you should not complain. Waiting on emails, when she is busy sending out notices and performing her other duties will not get you your unit any faster. If you need special attention, contact her directly. If you have the wrong tracking number, she will resolve it. I do know one slip of the hand can send out the wrong email, from experience. Again, she is human, and typically the longest and hardest working employee at Everlast. She gets the grief both ways...and still performs here duties quite well overall. You should not rely solely on third party conversations about a subject that Mike and I are not directly responsible for.

Additionally, I'd strongly suggest DOWLOADING our manual online on our site and fully reading it so you can hit the ground running, and further peruse our forum for all tech advice and bulletins to get a heads up on things, such as wiring, plumbing, and basic safety, if you haven't already done so while you are waiting. I believe this thread has run its course. If you wish to contribute further helpful information, in other threads please keep it on point and please, please, get rid of the negativity that you have come here with. Negativity has never helped to get anything resolved. Positive attitude yes, but not negativity. Please do not start "rebuttal" threads. Wait on your unit to make any "suggestions". If you have helpful comments for the forum, by all means post, but I or Mike will delete any threads that are intended to be in the same vein as this by you without a positive approach to your criticism. Its not that you are disagreeing or complaining, its how you are doing it that is the issue.